WHAT STAFF ARE READING

Big, epic fantasy

Meet Jared Short, one of the adult services librarians at Aloha Community Library, one of the 16 Washington County public libraries that are members of WCCLS.

What are you reading?

I’m reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson.

Why did you choose this book?

I love big, epic fantasy with expansive world-building. I have wanted to read the series that kicks off with Gardens of the Moon since I discovered that the world it takes place in was based on a role-playing game world created by Steven Erikson and fellow author Ian C. Esslemont. As a serious tabletop RPG player, it fascinates me to see just how far authors can push the collaborative narrative experience of roleplay gaming through their art.

What do you think of it so far?

This is actually a reread for me. I started the series on audiobook and made it to book #8, Toll the Hounds, before deciding that I loved the series so much that I wanted to start the series over with a physical format. I’m really enjoying picking up on a lot of the things I missed in my first run-through and finding the complexity of the world much more suited to a traditional text reading.

Where is your favorite place to read?

My favorite place to read is in my home office.

How many books do you plan to read this summer?

I hope to at least catch up to my audiobook listen of the Malazan series because I can’t wait to find out how things come to a close in the final three books!

Add color to your RPGs

Role-playing games (RPG) give you the chance to imagine and immerse yourself in another world. While every RPG comes with its own set of rules, there are no rules when it comes to creating a setting for your own RPG game.

Need inspiration? We've put together a list of rule sets for various sci-fi and fantasy RPGs, often referred to as "world-building." Beyond RPGs, world-building can be an incredibly fun experience for anyone who is interested in narratives or fiction writing.